VILLA PARK TURNED TO A FORTRESS

In recent years, Aston Villa owners Nassef Sawiris and American Billionaire, Wes Eden have pumped in sufficient money into the Villa team to see some notable and incredible talents join the club.  It’s safe to say that the two owners (who own the club through a company called V Sport) have facilitated the turnaround for Aston Villa, who last had glory days and dominance in the 1980’s.

In 2021, following the departure of Dean Smith from the club, Steven Gerard was brought in on a 3-year contract to revive the team as they were languishing in 16^th place after 11 games. This was after Aston Villa had brought in some exciting talents such as Leon Bailey, Emiliano Buendia and Danny Ings just to name a few.

Gerard joined Villa with a stunning record he amassed in Scotland as he brought Glasgow Rangers back to the top of Scottish football following an invincible season that saw them win the league title convincingly against their bitter rivals, Celtic.

Hopes were high for Stevie G, who ultimately failed to impress after finishing 14^th in his first season.

Nonetheless, the owners backed Steven Gerard in the transfer market as names such as Philippe Coutinho and Leander Dendoncker joined the Claret and Blue to bolster the team. More notable players that were signed under Gerard’s reign include Diego Carlos, who was one of the best Centre Back's in La Liga prior to arriving at Villa Park, along with French internationals Boubacar Kamara and Luca Digne. The latter arriving in Gerard’s first season.

But Gerard’s stint lasted only 40 games as he got the sack after a 3-0 loss to Fulham proved to be the final straw of a dreadful run of games. In Gerard’s 40-game spell, he recorded only 13 wins, 8 draws and 19 defeats.

ENTER UNAI EMERY: GOOD 'EBENING' VILLA!

The Spaniard joined Aston Villa after a successful time at Villareal. A period that saw Villareal become Europa League champions and subsequently becoming Champions League semi-finalists!   

Since joining Aston Villa, Emery has been in charge of  51 games, winning 31 of those, drawing 6 and losing only 13. Their most recent win was a 1-0 bullish win over title holders Manchester City.

In the process of Villa's resurgence, Emery took the team from a relegation scrap to a 7^th place finish within his first season, which meant Villa would compete in the Conference league, a competition they’re excelling in as they’ve qualified for the knockout phase with 1 game to spare.

What has stood out the most from Villa’s phenomenal run under Unai Emery, is their home form at Villa Park. This season, they’ve played 12 games at home in all competitions, losing only 1 game against Everton in their League Cup tie.

In the Premier League alone, they lead the standings in terms of home form. They’ve played 7 games and won all 7 fixtures. These wins include the scalp of Manchester City, a blistering 4-0 win against Everton, which was followed by 6-1 demolition job against a revamped Brighton & Hove Albion.

Coming off the back of a win in midweek against the current champions, Emery’s men square up with Arsenal, who in contrast have the best away form in the league. But in their last game, the Gunners were pushed to their absolute limits as they beat Luton Town 4-3 with a last minute winner by Declan Rice.

With the Gunners’ fragility at the back, Emery will be licking his lips in anticipation of Mikel Arteta’s visit, as Villa currently sit joint 2nd on the scoring charts along with Liverpool, only Man City scoring more goals than them. 

This encounter features in this Saturday’s Soccer 13 V1 Pool which has a carryover of R23 Million and a likely pool total of R40 Million with the pool closing at 16:15 on Saturday.